Saturday, November 17, 2018

Quad To Promote Free And Rule Based Order In Indo-Pacific Region

Quad To Promote Free And Rule Based Order In Indo-Pacific Region

Officers from the Indian Ministry of External affairs, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of foreign affairs of Japan and the US Department of state, reaffirmed the ASEAN centrality as the cornerstone of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, stated an official statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) .

The meeting of the Quad is considered important as it is been seen as a grouping that is concerned over the growing influence of China, especially with its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

For a free open Indo-Pacific, the Quad: India, US, Japan, Australia meeting in Singapore for the third round of their security dialogue in the `quadrilateral format on the sidelines of East Asia Summit. The Quad decided to promote a free, open, rules-based and inclusive order in the Indo-pacific region that fosters trust and confidence.

Officers from the Indian Ministry of External affairs, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of foreign affairs of Japan and the US Department of state, reaffirmed the ASEAN centrality as the cornerstone of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, stated an official statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) .

According the MEA, the discussions at the meeting focused on cooperation in areas such as connectivity, sustainable development, counter-terrorism, and non-proliferation and maritime and cyber security, with a view to promoting peace, stability and prosperity in an increasingly inter-connected Indo-Pacific region that the four countries share with each other and with other partners.

The meeting of the Quad is considered important as it is been seen as a grouping that is concerned over the growing influence of China, especially with its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

In a statement from the US Department of State, “The Quad committed to driving broad economic development that harnesses the region’ s full potential and foster connectivity and development of infrastructure based on transparency, genuine need, sustainable debt burden and other principles in accordance with International standards.”

The US officials underscored the importance of coordinated and complementary engagement to advance shared regional interests, including support for the new Maldivian government and encouragement of an outcome to political developments in SL consistent with democratic principles.

All the countries reaffirmed the ASEAN centrality as the corner-stone of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific and agreed to partner with other countries and forums in the region to promote a free, open, rules-based and inclusive order in the Indo-Pacific.